Khau Vai Love Market

Khau Vai Love Market is a traditional annual market held in Khau Vai Commune, Meo Vac District, Tuyen Quang Province in northern Vietnam. Held once a year on the 26th and 27th days of the third lunar month, it is known as a historic meeting place for ethnic minority groups. The market is notable for its cultural performances, traditional costumes, and its long-standing legend of forbidden love, attracting domestic and international visitors.

Visitors can expect a large open-air gathering in a mountain valley setting in Khau Vai, held only once a year. The site features temporary stalls selling local handicrafts, textiles, and food, with crowds wearing colorful traditional costumes of Tay, Nung, Giay, Mong and other ethnic groups. Visitors can see folk singing, dancing, cultural performances, and social gatherings where former lovers meet and share stories. The surrounding landscape is karst mountains and villages of the Dong Van Karst Plateau.

The market originates from a local legend of a forbidden love between a Nung boy named Ba and a Giay girl named Ut who could not marry due to tribal conflict. They agreed to meet once a year at Khau Vai on the 27th day of the 3rd lunar month, and the gathering evolved into an annual market where former lovers and ethnic communities meet.

The market is a significant cultural and social event for ethnic minority communities including Tay, Nung, Giay, Mong and others in the Dong Van Karst Plateau region. It serves as a place for cultural exchange, folk music, traditional costumes, and maintaining social bonds, and is recognized as an important intangible cultural heritage festival of the region.